Ever since Abbi was born our lives have been pretty scheduled. Actually, I’ve always been a pretty scheduled person. I like schedules. I like predictability....with the occasional *surprise* or deviation. Now that we have two kids this is what our daily schedule pretty much looks like:
7am -- girls wake up, parents groogishly leave their warm & cozy bed
8am -- breakfast
9amish -- Zoe’s nap, I shower and get ready for the day and then play with Abbi
11am or 12pm -- Zoe wakes up
12:30pm -- lunch
1:30 or 2pm -- Zoe & Abbi take naps (or attempt to)
3:30 or 4pm -- girls wake up (or are released) from their naps
5:30pm -- dinner
7pm -- bath and bedtime
8pm -- clean up the house, veg, and get other work done
Some time in there I find time to straighten up the house, run errands, go grocery shopping, etc. I like our schedule, for the most part.
Now the problem with our schedule is, with Zoe still taking two naps, we don’t have much time for *extra* stuff. I really want to get Abbi involved with or around other kids her age so she can become socially ready for pre-school. Intellectually the girl is ready but socially, well, she’s a bit attached to her mommy....which I find hilarious because, usually, at the end of the day we want to strangle each other!
I’ve looked into different activities to get her involved in. We did Kindermusik when she was a baby and that was great but it’s not cheap. There are lots of story times at the local library and book stores but, and here is the main problem, they are all during nap times. There is a Moms group at church that I was interested in where the girls would go to the church provided child-care but, again, it’s during Zoe’s nap time. Play dates are great but I just don’t have a lot of friends that live near me that have kids.
So what do we do? How do I get Abbi involved in things without sacrificing the schedule? Or do I need to sacrifice the schedule? Obviously something is going to get sacrificed, either the schedule or the events.
Is it crucial that Zoe gets both her naps each day? I dare say “yes”. She can become quite a, ummm, pain in the butt when she doesn’t get enough sleep. Not to mention the positive affects sleep has on my girls’ health.
Sadly enough our regular church attendance has even suffered because Zoe tends to take her nap during the time in which we would be leaving for church.
I hate that Abbi is missing out on things or not getting enough outside social interaction because we’re tied down to a nap schedule.
So, all you parents out there, how do you do it? How do you balance life when you have two or three or four kids on different schedules? And, if your kids aren’t in daycare, what are some good activities to get a pre-schooler ready for pre-school?
7am -- girls wake up, parents groogishly leave their warm & cozy bed
8am -- breakfast
9amish -- Zoe’s nap, I shower and get ready for the day and then play with Abbi
11am or 12pm -- Zoe wakes up
12:30pm -- lunch
1:30 or 2pm -- Zoe & Abbi take naps (or attempt to)
3:30 or 4pm -- girls wake up (or are released) from their naps
5:30pm -- dinner
7pm -- bath and bedtime
8pm -- clean up the house, veg, and get other work done
Some time in there I find time to straighten up the house, run errands, go grocery shopping, etc. I like our schedule, for the most part.
Now the problem with our schedule is, with Zoe still taking two naps, we don’t have much time for *extra* stuff. I really want to get Abbi involved with or around other kids her age so she can become socially ready for pre-school. Intellectually the girl is ready but socially, well, she’s a bit attached to her mommy....which I find hilarious because, usually, at the end of the day we want to strangle each other!
I’ve looked into different activities to get her involved in. We did Kindermusik when she was a baby and that was great but it’s not cheap. There are lots of story times at the local library and book stores but, and here is the main problem, they are all during nap times. There is a Moms group at church that I was interested in where the girls would go to the church provided child-care but, again, it’s during Zoe’s nap time. Play dates are great but I just don’t have a lot of friends that live near me that have kids.
So what do we do? How do I get Abbi involved in things without sacrificing the schedule? Or do I need to sacrifice the schedule? Obviously something is going to get sacrificed, either the schedule or the events.
Is it crucial that Zoe gets both her naps each day? I dare say “yes”. She can become quite a, ummm, pain in the butt when she doesn’t get enough sleep. Not to mention the positive affects sleep has on my girls’ health.
Sadly enough our regular church attendance has even suffered because Zoe tends to take her nap during the time in which we would be leaving for church.
I hate that Abbi is missing out on things or not getting enough outside social interaction because we’re tied down to a nap schedule.
So, all you parents out there, how do you do it? How do you balance life when you have two or three or four kids on different schedules? And, if your kids aren’t in daycare, what are some good activities to get a pre-schooler ready for pre-school?